Ole Edvart Rølvaag

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Ole Edvart Rølvåg
1920s (?), Minnesota Historical Society
Born(1876-04-22)22 April 1876
Dønna Municipality, Norway
Died5 November 1931(1931-11-05) (aged 55)
Northfield, Minnesota, United States
Occupation(s)Novelist and professor
Known forGiants in the Earth

Ole Edvart Rølvaag (Urban East Norwegian: [ˈûːlə ˈɛ̀dːvɑʈ ˈrø̂ːlvoːɡ]; Rølvåg in modern Norwegian, Rolvaag in English orthography) (April 22, 1876 – November 5, 1931) was a Norwegian-American novelist and professor who became well known for his writings regarding the Norwegian American immigrant experience. Ole Rolvaag is most cited for Giants in the Earth, his award-winning, epic novel of Norwegian immigrant homesteaders in Dakota Territory.[1]

Biography

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O.E. Rølvaag's 1896 immigration diary from Dønna, Norway to the United States. In this diary, he discusses his journey to Elk Point, South Dakota.

At 14 years of age Rølvaag joined his father and brothers in the Lofoten fishing grounds.[2][3]

He was sent a ticket to America in 1896 from an uncle who had emigrated earlier. He traveled to Union County, South Dakota, to work as a farmhand. He settled in Elk Point, South Dakota, working as a farmhand until 1898. With the help of his pastor, Rølvaag enrolled in Augustana Academy in Canton, South Dakota, where he graduated in 1901. He earned a bachelor's degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, in 1905, and a master's degree from the same institution in 1910. He also had studied for some time at the University of Oslo.[4]

Career

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Personal life

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Ole and Jennie Rølvaag with their son, Olaf.

In 1908, Rølvaag became a United States citizen and married Jennie Marie Berdahl, the daughter of Andrew James Berdahl and Karen Oline Otterness. They had four children: Olaf, Ella, Karl and Paul. Their son, Karl Fritjof Rolvaag, served as the 31st governor of Minnesota.[5] Ole Rolvaag died November 5, 1931, in Northfield, Minnesota.[6]

Literary style and themes

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Giants in the Earth

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Letter from Lincoln Colcord to O.E. Rølvaag discussing the translation of Giants in the Earth.

Rølvaag's authorship and scholarship focused on the pioneer experience on the Dakota plains in the 1870s. His most famous book was Giants in the Earth, part of a trilogy. The novel realistically treats the lives and trials of Norwegian pioneers in the Midwest, emphasizing their battles with the elements. The book also portrays the trials of loneliness, separation from family, longing for the old country, and the difficulty of fitting into a new culture.[7]

Giants in the Earth served as the basis for an opera by Douglas Moore and Arnold Sundgaard that won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1951.[8]

Honors and awards

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Rølvaag was appointed Knight of the Order of St Olav by King Haakon VII in 1926.[9][10] Also, St. Olaf College has created a literary award named for Rolvaag, the Ole E. Rolvaag Award for Fiction, the "award honors the memory of St. Olaf’s greatest writer, Ole Rolvaag".[11]

Memorials

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Berdahl–Rølvaag House in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he wrote Giants in the Earth

Selected bibliography

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  • Amerika-breve fra P.A. Smevik til hans far og bror i Norge – American Letters (1912)
  • Paa Glemte Veie – On Forgotten Paths (1914)
  • To Tullinger: Et Billede frå idag – Two Fools: A Portrait of Our Times (1920)
  • Længselens Baat – The Boat of Longing (1921)
  • Omkring fædrearven – Concerning Our Heritage (1922)
  • I de Dage – In Those Days (1923)
  • Riket Grundlægges – Founding the Kingdom (1924)

The following three books form a trilogy:

  • Giants in the Earth (combined version of I de Dage and Riket Grundlægges – translated and published in 1927)
  • Peder Seier – Peder Victorious (translated in 1929)
  • Den Signede Dag – Their Father's God (translated in 1931)

Last release:

  • Pure Gold (translated in 1930)
  • The Boat of Longing (1933)

References

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[15][16]

  1. ^ Heitmann, John. "Edvart Rølvaag". Norwegian-American Historical Association. p. 144. Archived from the original on 2009-07-04. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  2. ^ Olson, Julius E. "Edvart Rølvaag, 1876–1931 In Memoriam". Norwegian-American Historical Association. p. 121. Archived from the original on 2014-02-04. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  3. ^ "Ole Edvart Rølvaag". Nordland Fylkeskommune. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  4. ^ Haugen, Einar I. "E. Rølvaag: Norwegian-American". Norwegian-American Historical Association. p. 53. Archived from the original on 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  5. ^ "Jennie Marie Berdahl (My Genealogy)". Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  6. ^ "Ole E. Rolvaag". Minnesota Historical Society. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  7. ^ "Introduction to the text edition of Giants in the Earth". Harper and Brothers. 1929. Archived from the original on 29 August 2006.
  8. ^ "Giants in the Earth, Libretto by Arnold Sundgaard after Rolvaag. March 28, 1951 {US Opera". Archived from the original on February 4, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  9. ^ Bjørk, Kenneth. "Unknown Rølvaag: Secretary in the Norwegian-American Historical Association". Norwegian-American Historical Association. p. 114. Archived from the original on 2009-07-04. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  10. ^ The Main Factors in Rølvaag's Authorship. (Theodore Jorgenson. Norwegian-American Historical Association.Volume X: Page 135 Archived 2009-07-04 at the Wayback Machine)
  11. ^ "Rolvaag Award for Fiction". Archived from the original on 2019-01-29. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  12. ^ "Rolvaag, O. E., House". Archived from the original on 2013-02-20. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  13. ^ "Rolvaag Memorial Library". St. Olaf College. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  14. ^ "Berdahl–Rolvaag House". Archived from the original on 2013-02-20. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  15. ^ Rølvaag and Krause, Two Novelists of the Northwest Prairie Frontier by Arthur R. Huseboe, Augustana College Archived 2009-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ The Viking Invasion: An Historiography of Norwegian-American Literature And Its Role In Norwegian Immigration And The Founding of Vesterheimen Within America (W. Scott Nelson. Humboldt State University May, 2005) Archived 2009-03-25 at the Wayback Machine

Additional sources

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  • Jorgenson, Theodore and Solum, Nora O. Ole Edvart Rölvaag: A Biography (Harper and Brothers, 1939)
  • Reigstad, Paul. Rolvaag: His Life and Art (University of Nebraska Press, 1972)
  • Thorson, Gerald. Ole Rolvaag, Artist and Cultural Leader (St. Olaf College Press, 1975)
  • Simonson, Harold P. Prairies Within: The Tragic Trilogy of Ole Rolvaag (University of Washington Press, 1987)
  • Moseley, Ann. Ole Edvart Rolvaag (Boise State University Bookstore, 1987)
  • Eckstein, Neil Truman. Marginal Man As Novelist: The Norwegian-American Writers H.H Boyesen and O.E. Rolvaag (Taylor & Francis, 1990)
  • Haugen, Einar Ingvald Ole Edvart Rölvaag (Boston: Twayne Publishers,1983)
  • Moose, Nancy Gwen, Religion, Women and Culture in the Works of Ole E. Rølvaag. (1989). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. South Dakota State University. https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/4610
  • Zempel, Solveig. 1999. Ole Edvart Rolvaag: Novelist. St. Olaf and the Vocation of a Church College, Pamela Schwandt, Gary De Krey, and L. DeAne Lagerquist, eds. pp. 89-96. Northfield, MN: St. Olaf College.
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